Trials Of The Heart
by Oerba Dia Kiri-Ki
Summary: The story following Separation & Healing. The pair decide on going out to the beach, and eventually wind up on a nearby island to explore. Little do they know what's waiting there for them to find. Tifa/Lightning. Rated M for future content.
1. The Plan

**Author's note**: The long awaited 3rd installment of the Tifa/Lightning series. I know it's been a long wait for some people, but I hope it was worth the wait for it :3 And also I must say, after reading reviews from previous stories... I know Lightning is OOC sometimes, but that's why it's called an AU (Alternate universe) So of course she won't be entirely the same Lightning we know and love from Final Fantasy XIII, you know? Besides, it's our story and we'll write what we want... You're the one who chooses to sit here and read it or not, remember that, yeah?

_Anyway, for anyone new just starting from this story..._

This takes place in an AU, on Destiny Islands. Lightning is an ex-soldier who became a teacher after moving to the island. And Tifa has just moved there, after having decided to make a fresh start in a new town, away from Radiant Garden.

**Disclaimer**: My friend and I do not own any characters, places, or intellectual property of Final Fantasy XIII, Final Fantasy VII, or Kingdom Hearts.

* * *

A pink haired figured stirred where she was sleeping, covers ruffled and partially covering her exposed pale skin in the morning light. She had stayed over the previous night, after making plans with her girlfriend to spend the day together. Lightning groggily opened one crystal clear blue eye, and let her gaze wander around the room. This was only the 3rd time she had ever slept under the same roof, not to mention the same _bed_ as Tifa since getting together - and yet it was still something she was getting accustomed to. Not to mention her body aching from the previous night's activities.

Lightning rolled onto her back, and stared up at the ceiling with a soft sigh. Every part of her body was in pure agony. She figured by the 10th time her body would adjust, but _damn_, Tifa tended to get rough when they got really into it. She shook her head and sat up on the bed, not bothered in the least that her girlfriend wasn't even in the room. The brunette tended to disappear into the kitchen on occasions like this, to make them both a nice hot breakfast.

She stretched the sore muscles in her arms and calves, before getting off the bed and looking out the bedroom window. Lightning's gaze wandered over the landscape, mostly full of houses and forested area farther away, and silently took in the morning view. Birds were chirping happily in the backyard, and the sun's warm rays felt good as they warmed her slightly through the cracked window. Eventually she stared down at grassy yard, and could easily tell from uplifted dirt and flowers, where her and Tifa had been clashing bodies the day before.

_At least she takes sparring seriously, unlike some people I know..._ The thought made her grin, and with a chuckle did she leave the bedroom; pausing only for a minute to peek into the bathroom in the hall at the mirror, just to make sure she looked presentable. Once Lightning felt more that adequate, she left and finally headed down the stairs - where the faint smell of fresh food was wafting through the house from the kitchen. It was going to be a good start to the day, or so she was pretty sure of anyway.

As the pink-haired woman reached the bottom, a figure dashed directly at her, with a leg appearing out of lightning's peripheral vision a split second later. She dodged swiftly, taking a sideways step, and Tifa went flying, nearly hitting the wall behind Lightning. She quickly stopped herself, recovering from missing impact. The brunette flung her hair around, as she jumped for an aerial assault. Once again, Lightning dodged, though a little slower than before, and resulted in getting grazed slightly by the kick on the side of her pelvis. Tifa got up from the ground as quickly as she had gotten there, smiling wide as she turned to face Lightning.

"Good morning! I made breakfast, it's waffles, eggs, bacon, and hash browns. ...You like your eggs sunny side up right?" She questioned, giving Lightning a quick peck on the cheek, before moving towards the kitchen - tying her hair up in a ponytail, and rubbing beads of sweat from her forehead in the process.

"Yeah. Though it doesn't really matter that much to me, you know that." The pinkette called out in reply, watching the woman's form disappear into the dining room.

As soon as the brunette was out of sight, Lightning gingerly poked a finger at where she had been kicked a few moments prior, having noticed just how much it hurt now. _...Dammit. If she had kicked me any harder, I think she would have broken something... Good thing I can barely feel my body as it is, or I would have doubled over in pain, I'm sure._ The pinkette had known Tifa was strong, but she'd be damned if she got into another sparring match anytime soon.

Either way, Light followed after her girlfriend, eager to get some fresh food in her system. If there was one thing she really loved about staying over at Tifa's, it would have to be the food she made. Though before she would eat anything, there was one tiny thing she wanted to do. The pinkette smirked, grabbed her girlfriend by the waist, and pulled her close to her. "You seem rather excited this morning... I wonder why that could be, hm?" Lightning grinned widely, and rubbed their noses together in an eskimo kiss, before pressing her lips lightly against the brunette's.

"Sorry.. I didn't get you too bad back there did I? I was still a little jittery from last night's events..." Tifa murmured, suddenly feeling bad about launching an attack right after the woman had dragged herself out of bed. She calmed instantly though at the kiss, and returned it with a few of her own light kisses. "I promise I'm done now though.. I just get so few opportunities to spar these days, so I really enjoy it when you're around!"

"And I'll have you know, I'm excited every morning. So I have absolutely no clue what you're talking about~" Tifa giggled, a bright shade of pink overcoming her face as she nuzzled Lightning's cheek. When she was finally released from the other's grasp, Tifa took a seat at the table and grabbed a serving of eggs and some bacon to start with.

"So... What do you want to do today anyway?" Lightning inquired, sitting down next to her, and wasting no time in piling some food onto her plate. "It _is_ your turn after all, since I chose our last date... So anywhere you want to go, or anything you want to do, and we will."

It had been a month since they first began to go out, and every opportunity since then they spent together, either at Tifa's place or Lightning's when no one was home. There was so much more they had to learn about each other, but one of the big things they had in common dealt with physical activity. The two had an affinity towards sparring, and they were the ideal opponents for one another to playfully practice until the sun showed up in the morning.

One of those nights, Light was ferocious with her attacks, knocking Tifa off balance completely. "Float like a butterfly, and sting like a bee." Light had teasingly remarked, and Tifa laughed. "You're not much of a butterfly, Light. More like a Firefly!" Suddenly, a pet name was born for Lightning.

_Firefly_.

The sparring and teaching helped bring them closer together as well. Some days, though, they truly preferred to just stay indoors and chat about things that went on during the week. However, they still didn't exactly have a set routine for their romance, and new surprises kept popping up as Tifa discovered new things about Lightning, and vice versa. Another date was a good idea, and the brunette contemplated some ideas as she poured herself some orange juice, offering some to the pinkette too.

"Well. I've been exploring the beach quite a bit lately, and I discovered this cute islet using that paddle boat I made.." Ever since Tifa discovered her neighbor's were friendly enough to allow her to use their tool shed, she had been keeping herself busy at night constructing a simple boat that would float on water. She figured living on an island, it would be smart to learn how to move around on a boat. Granted, this was no luxurious item, but it was better than renting out a boat every time. She smiled as she took a bite of the hash browns, quite proud of the end result of all the material finding and construction she did to make that boat.

"It should be big enough for the two of us. How about we have a picnic on the islet and go explore the area? We could also go swimming if you wanted..."

Lightning looked up from the stack of waffles on her plate, her fork resting at the tips of her lips as she turned her head to look at Tifa. "An islet? And you made a paddle boat? I never knew you could... Well, _craft a boat_." The pinkette admitted, though knowing pretty well there was no way she would have known otherwise.

"Going on a picnic sounds nice enough.. The weather is definitely perfect for it. Plus I haven't had an adventure that included exploring somewhere new in a long time." Lightning said, while a smile formed on those peach lips of hers, as she remembered how often she used to do the same thing with her sister Serah.

As Lightning went to take another bite of her waffles, a thought occurred to her that made her freeze. _Swimming...?_ The only swimming suit she had... Showed off her back. And Tifa had never seen her back, or that nasty scar she had - but she had no knowledge the brunette had _felt_ it once before, and that had been enough to pique her curiosity. The pinkette glanced back up at her girlfriend, and tried to play it cool. "I haven't been swimming in a while, it might be nice for a change. ...But do you have any extra uh, bathing suits? If not I can't just use my spare t-shirt and shorts..."

In truth, as Lightning finished off the last bits of her breakfast, she couldn't help but wonder how the day was going to go. Any time spent with Tifa was amazing, there was no doubt about that. But the thought of her girlfriend having to see her horridly mangled back? It wasn't a pleasant thought. Though she was thankful that lately her scar hadn't been hurting, nor had she been having nightmares whenever staying at the brunette's. The pinkette had to wonder though, if sleeping snuggled up against Tifa had anything to do with that.

The fork in her hand dropped onto the plate with a clink, and she smiled warmly at Tifa. "Well, shall we get ready to go then?"

"_Really_?" Tifa nearly jumped up from her chair, and went around the table to hug Lightning - nuzzling her face within the soft pink hair. "Oh thank you! I'm sure I have a bathing suit that will fit you fine!" She grabbed Lightning by the wrist and pulled her up, motioning towards upstairs for her to go get ready.

As Light ventured back up the stairs with a troubled expression passing over her face, Tifa called out to her from the dining area. "Go on ahead, my swimsuits are in the dresser near the window. I have to clean up the kitchen first!"

Tifa turned to put away the dishes after hearing the bedroom door close, and happily scrubbed the pan in her hand as she thought of the day's events. She couldn't wait to spend the whole day with Light, and to go swimming no less! She hadn't been swimming much other than when she fell off her own boat.

Plus this was just another opportunity for the two of them to get to know each other better. Playing on the beach is a necessity for romance, after all.


	2. Preparations

**Author's note**: After quite a bit of popular demand, I decided to get off my butt and add the next chapter to this story! I'm sorry for the number of you that have been waiting, but I assure you I'll update this more frequently now since people are actually wanting more chapters, lmao.

* * *

_Dresser near the window... Got it._ The pinkette thought to herself, as she trudged her way back towards the bedroom. She prayed that Tifa had some decent swimming suits, or she was going to be pretty fucked later that day.

Lightning pushed open the room's door, and moved over towards the dresser in question. She pulled open the top most drawer, and blinked for a moment. ...Tifa had a lot of... Questionable lingerie in this particular drawer. As much as she would love to stand there, and picture her girlfriend in black lacey undergarments, it wasn't the time nor the place for it. She quickly shoved the drawer closed, while a blush crept up the sides of her face. Those images would be forever burned into her mind though.

The pinkette tried the second drawer, and was relieved when she found what she had been looking for. The brunette had a nice stash of swimming suits, but a good portion of them were bikinis... And she wasn't sure how she'd feel with one on. Eventually after a few moments of rummaging, she found a fairly decent black bikini. The top piece would tie up on her neck, and as for the bottom half... It was basically a bikini bottom, but also had a leg fringe to cover part of her right leg.

Lightning checked both pieces over for the size, and cracked a smile when they saw that they would fit her quite well. She closed the middle drawer, and placed the bikini on the bed. If she needed to, she figured she could also just put on her extra sleeveless shirt... As to keep Tifa from seeing the scarring running across her back.

Her thoughts were stopped short, when she heard footsteps in the hall. Lightning looked over at the doorway to see Tifa leaning against the door-frame. She pointed at the bed, and smiled a little. "Uh... What do you think of this one?"

Tifa walked slowly up to the bed, sitting on the edge as she quietly examined what Lightning picked out. "Oh, this is one of my favorites!" She picked up the garment and held the top piece up against her girlfriend's chest, seemingly visualizing what she'd look like with it actually on - and smiling at the thought of the two having the same taste in bathing suits, as odd as that sounded.

"Well, if we leave in a few, I can set up the boat which is down at the shore in like ten minutes, and we'll be off and back before the sun goes down." Tifa looked over at the slightly nervous Light, and chuckled, noticing a tint of pink upon her face.

"I suppose I shouldn't watch you change. Tempting as it is, I have to make that picnic basket filled with goods just for you and me." The brunette smiled, getting up from the bed and handing the black bikini to Light. She kissed her cheek and walked to the door, though stopped before leaving and looked over her shoulder.

"Is there anything special you want in it? C'mon Light, you keep telling me you'll eat anything, but I know you would want something special for this date. Haha, though we did just eat…" Tifa giggled, placing a hand upon the doorknob, waiting for Light to respond so she could politely excuse herself to the kitchen.

Sapphire eyes rested on Tifa's form, while Lightning lightly bit at her bottom lip in thought. It was true she'd eat pretty much anything, since it was just how she had been since her military days. One can never be too picky when there's not much variety to begin with.

"Hmm... I suppose I could go for some of those sandwiches you made awhile back, with they fresh baguettes you made the other day. I mean, I know it isn't the most '_special_' thing to have... But eating something you made from scratch is, well, one of my most favorite things to do, Teef." Lightning smiled when Tifa nodded in approval, and then asked what kind of sub she wanted. "Uhm... I really liked the last sub you made me a few weeks ago, the one with all the different kinds of meat and cheese? And had the bread slightly toasted? Yeah. That one."

She waved her girlfriend off as she left the room, and then turned her attention back to the bikini laid out neatly on the bed. Lightning took her time in removing and discarding her previous day's outfit, and then eyed the swimwear. The pinkette then looked in the mirror, that Tifa had placed on the nearby dresser; as she held onto the strings that needed to tie around her neck. The bikini did look really good on her, she had to admit that to herself, as she tied the top behind her neck. But... Lightning turned a little to get a look at her back, and frowned at what she saw.

The ex-soldier hadn't taken a good look at her scar in a long time, but was distressed at how deep the groves in her skin actually were. She ran a hand over her shoulder, letting her fingers feel the edges of the top most engraving in her skin. It was deep, and highly unmissable if touched, even through fabric. Lightning sighed, and pulled her pink tank top on, to hide the bikini and it for now.

Light took a look around the room, and upon deciding she was ready; left the brunette's bedroom, and made her way downstairs into the kitchen. Tifa noticed Lightning show up just as she was about to finish up packing away the sandwiches, and gave her a warm smile. She returned the smile Tifa gave her, and leaned her back against the door-frame. "Well I'm ready to go whenever you're done, babe."

"Just let me get my bathing suit on!" Tifa said excitedly, while running upstairs to change as well - since knew which one to choose too. Lightning watched her girlfriend disappear up the stairs to her room, and smiled; though she was still a bit apprehensive about what could and _would_ happen later that day.

Back in the bedroom, Tifa was busy pulling out what she planned on wearing to the beach. It was a pretty blue string one with the bikini as a halter top with frills around the edges cupping her breasts. The bottoms had a design of a flower playing along the upper part of it, with the strings on the sides making small bows. Tifa then put on shorts and a light sleeveless jacket before going back downstairs and grabbing Light's hand, tugging her gently outside - obviously more than eager to get the day started.

_Well someone is definitely ready to have some fun_. Light chuckled to herself, folding her arms over her chest and standing a few feet back; an amused glint shining in her sapphire eyes at the brunette jogging around to finish the preparations for the trip.

Tifa quickly gathered the things needed for the boat from around the garage, and the side of her home as well: some paddles, an extra container of gas for the engine, and some life preservers just in case. She settled all of it in the back her truck, also placing the picnic basket next to these things, but securing it so as nothing would get damaged and have a chance to ruin their lunch.

"Ready to go? You want to drive or should I? It's Dock 3 about five miles on the left side of the school."

When Tifa turned to her, she blinked. _Drive her truck_? The pinkette was a little unsettled by the idea of doing that, especially when she was so used to driving her motorcycle, so she just shook her head. "No it's fine, I don't trust myself driving your truck. So why don't you take us there yourself?" Lightning walked around to the passenger side of the truck, got inside, and buckled herself in. She then leaned over and opened Tifa's door for her.

"Let's gooooo~"

"Haha alright fine. I'm getting in." Tifa laughed, buckling herself into the driver's seat. The engine roared to life not even a moment later, and the truck pulled out of the driveway. _Today is going to be a good day.._ A smile tugged at the corner of Tifa's lips at the thought, and after casting a quick glance at Lightning, they were off down the road.


	3. Between a Boat and a Hard Place

**Author's note**: I'm sorry for the long wait on finally updating this story. There have been other things in the work, and sadly I forget to go over my older fanfics.. Kind of feel what I already have done for this particular one is no longer up to my standards of writing, however I'll continue to update it at times though after another chapter or two I can promise the quality will improve some. (Since I don't want to rewrite all I have already.)

* * *

Riding to the beach only took about twenty minutes, give or take a few from traffic stops, to get to their destination. The ride itself had been pleasant, with talk from the couple being a conversation on the last time either of them had gone to the beach. For Tifa, only a few weeks had passed since her last visit, as she had spent time with Cloud, Denzel, and even Aerith running around the sandy area to play a game of volleyball.

Lightning however hadn't been to a beach in many years; in fact not since she had been a young girl, and her parents had both still been alive to enjoy the days with her and Serah. After the passing of her father, the eldest Farron found it hard to enjoy most things and trips to the beach cease to happen for her. Even after moving out to Destiny Islands, Lightning had never truly just taken a day to lounge around or anywhere near one of it's many beaches - and for good reason too.

The chatting died down when the docks came into view, and thankfully the the girls found the parking lot not to be as crowded as expected. It appeared rather quiet as they got out and gathered the things from the back of Tifa's truck.

On the far edge of the water, the dock was filled with boats as far as the eye could seen, along with a booth where a giant, rough looking, and dark skinned man was sitting. As they got closer to the dock, they could tell he was repairing an engine, barely even noticing the two women only inches away from the dock. Tifa kept moving past the booth, and only then did he look up from his project to acknowledge her.

She kept walking until she stopped in front of a boat. It was painted white with two places for seats built into it. The boat was a bit smaller than the others, but appeared durable - and honestly looked to be in a better condition than most. Tifa grabbed the rope that was attached to the vessel, keeping it docked, and began pulling the boat towards her.

Suddenly, the man turned to get a closer look at Tifa, and then got up from where he had been sitting to go yell at her. "Wait, what the _hell_ are you doing here?! You didn't dock your boat here _again_ did you?" He yelled, waving an arm at the brunette in an irritated fashion.

Lightning stepped a bit closer, clearly alarmed by this, but Tifa just smirked and laughed at him. "Yes, and thanks again for the good spot! You really should take inventory on the boats. Seriously, will it always take me coming here for you to realize I dock here?" She laughed again as he made indescribable noises of anger as he got closer, and closer to the brunette.

"Woman, I TOLD YOU! I never want to see your face again! You're bad for business!" He spat at her, his face close enough for her to see the beads of sweat on his face caused by the blaring sun.

Lightning had no idea what to think about what was going on. At first glance this massive black man looked as if he was going to hurt Tifa, but instead all he could do was yell intangible sentences at her. The pinkette tilted her head, and watched as the man spat at her more; which with having Lightning around, probably wasn't the smartest thing to do... Seeing as how she now wanted to deck him in the face, for even getting that close to her girlfriend.

However, Tifa smiled at him, not the least bit bothered by his show of anger, or the closeness between them. "No, what's bad for business is your _ridiculous_ prices! Or did you forget that's why I made my _own_ boat in the first place?" She poked his nose, grinning from ear to ear, and went around him in a half circle as he screamed again incoherently.

The roseate's anger subsided rather quickly, after seeing the brunette poke the man on the nose. Though Lightning wanted to cover both her ears, due to the loud screaming coming from the man. That, or yet again, she wanted to punch his lights out. For whatever reason may be however, Tifa still didn't seem bothered by him in the least; and it was bugging her about why that was.

She didn't get a chance to ask, before the brunette had made her way back over to her and grabbed her hand. Lightning felt a bit uneasy as Tifa pulled her past the guy, who was practically foaming at the mouth with rage. He glared daggers at her girlfriend since her back was turned, but Lightning quickly gave him her own glare; one that made him take a few steps back.

"Really, you should be thanking me. I gave you great advise on changing the the cost, you know, due to the fact that your ratio of price to customer isn't pulling in any profitable income." Tifa replied back calmly, while pulling the boat in again so Lightning could place the basket of food inside, along with the paddles and small tank of gas for the engine.

After hearing the brunette's smart-ass remark, the man started up again with his swearing and yelling at them. The ex-soldier shot him another dirty look, telling him she didn't appreciate how he was acting around her, or Tifa for that matter. She then stepped tentatively inside the boat, and sat in the further seat. "Can we please go... I'm getting a migraine from all his shouting." Lightning pleaded, rubbing the right side of her temple for emphasis.

"Oh sorry, is Barret upsetting you? I didn't realize, I'm so used to his screaming." Tifa laughed while untying the rope from the dock. "He likes to yell a lot, but he's my friend who let's my dock here all the time! He's really a nice guy." She explained, before starting the engine.

The engine revved and the boat started moving, Tifa pulling on the lever in the back so as to maneuver the boat in different directions, most importantly away from the dock.

"I am _not_ your friend!" Barret barked out from the edge of the pier, as the boat was quickly gaining distance from it. The young brunette waved from behind though, smiling happily as the two women saw the giant man sigh and turn away.

"I'll see you later!" Tifa called out at the retreated man, and after a final scream from the pier, she turned the engine up more, and the boat really got going.

After a few turns here or there, the rest of the journey was really just straight forward. As the dock was practically out of sight, Tifa began to unzip the jacket and let the say shine rays upon her body. It really was too hot to be wearing anything else but a swimsuit.

The islet could be seen a few yards away, and the brunette turned Lightning so she could get a better look at it. "Ready to go swimming soon? I'm so excited!"

Lightning stared off in the distance, at the islet Tifa was taking her to. It did look nice, she wouldn't argue that but... She wasn't as excited as her girlfriend, when it came to swimming around.

The pinkette couldn't help but peer over the edge of the boat though, and look into the crystal clear water beneath them. She could see a few native fishes swimming around, and even the sand on the bottom; which looked shiny as hell to her under the glare of the sun. Lightning looked over at Tifa and smiled. "This is pretty amazing... I haven't actually been out here before... Erm, this far out away from the island, I mean. I've never really felt like coming out here alone, you know?" She returned her gaze to the water, and cerulean orbs got lost in the many ripples the boat was creating.

Lightning was so occupied with looking down into the ocean, that she didn't catch the mischievous grin Tifa now wore. The brunette quickly turned the boat, while the pinkette was still hovering over the edge. The force of the turn ended up sending the roseate face first into the ocean, and all the brunette could do was laugh at the expense of her partner as the boat fled from the scene. Good thing they were only a few yards away from the shore, or else the pinkette would have been pissed. Not to say she wasn't unhappy already.

She surfaced and used a soaked hand to move the sopping wet strands of hair out of her eyes, while barely being able to stay above the current caused by the passing water-bound vehicle. The pinkette then glared in the direction of her girlfriend, wanting to know if she had purposely done that or if it had been an accident. Tifa's loud laughter was a dead give away, and all Lightning could do was sulk in the water where she had fallen in.

_Not cool... Not cool at all..._ She grumbled mentally to herself, not being one to like being made a fool of.


End file.
